Supply response under market liberalisation: A case study of Malawian agriculture

In order to analyse the effects of policy reforms, output supply and factor demand responses to input and output prices for Malawian agriculture are estimated in this article in a multiple-output, multiple-input framework. The implications of various structural adjustment policies implemented in Malawi are analysed using the model results for their impact on the smallholder agricultural sector. The results of the analysis indicate that removal of fertiliser subsidy – a major component of market reform policies – does not substantially reduce the production of maize, the major staple food in Malawi. However, when implemented in appropriate sequence along with other output market liberalisation policies and increased investment in infrastructure, such a policy is likely to increase the productivity of smallholder agriculture.     

Volatility,maturity and volume in the Indian metals futures

This study examines the validity of Samuelson hypothesis and the mixture of distribution hypothesis to uncover time-to-maturity and trading volume as the sources of volatility in gold and copper futures. Exponential generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity model is used for empirical analysis. Leverage effect is found in copper futures but not in gold futures. We find evidence of the Samuelson maturity effect even after controlling for the trading volume. The mixture of distribution hypothesis is strongly supported. Hence trading volume, a proxy for information arrival, is one of the important determinants of volatility, and it dominates time-to-maturity. The results have implications for setting the desired level of margin requirements in futures contracts, designing effective hedging strategy and strengthening the risk management practices.     

An Alternative Lens for Understanding Technology Acceptance: An Equity Comparison Perspective

Many studies of technology acceptance have noted that new technology can have far-reaching effects, dramatically changing the environment (e.g., work, home, school) in which we use the technology. The current research considers an equity comparison perspective on technology acceptance and usage in the context of online discussion tools based on the equity implementation model (EIM). The EIM applies equity theory to assess user net outcomes related to adopting new technology in comparison to the net outcomes of other technology stakeholders. Facilitating conditions with the new technology are investigated as a moderating factor on intentions and usage. Equity theory and social comparisons provide an alternative lens for understanding technology acceptance that may capture broader issues related to the changes resulting from new technology. This research describes what we believe to be a first effort to operationalize social comparisons of equity in the context of technology acceptance. A survey instrument measuring social comparisons of net outcomes is developed, and a longitudinal, empirical study is conducted in the context of online discussion forums. The research model is also investigated within a nomological network of technology acceptance constructs. The results indicate that the model provides explanatory power comparable to existing models of technology acceptance and that outcome comparisons provide unique insight beyond known determinants of intentions and usage.     

Building Technological Capabilities In A Liberalising Developing Economy: Firm Strategies And Public Policy

As a consequence of economic reforms, the Indian manufacturing sector faces a variety of technology related challenges. It not only has to quickly develop world-class manufacturing capabilities, but also gear up to develop new products and processes. In this paper we analyse the technology strategies of six Indian firms in different product groups which are trying to build competitive manufacturing and technology capabilities. The linkages between corporate, technology, and manufacturing strategies are explored and the role of complementary assets is studied in order to identify patterns through which these firms are building capabilities of various kinds. Specifically, we evaluate the extent to which firms use supply chains to develop product and process technologies. Some links between public policy and firm level technological capabilities are also explored to identify a few key priorities in the current context     

Does the XBRL Reporting Format Provide Incremental Information Value? A Study Using XBRL Disclosures During the Voluntary Filing Program

This study investigates whether the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) reporting format provides incremental information value beyond the same 10K/10Q filings previously provided in HTML format. Using a sample from the XBRL Voluntary Filing Program, we document a significant increase in stock price variance on the day when voluntary XBRL reports are filed. We find market response is stronger when more content is filed on the same day. To evaluate relative information value, we decompose the quarterly return variance for three primary news announcements related to earnings including earnings announcement, HTML filing, and XBRL filing. We find XBRL filings have larger relative information value than HTML filings. Our results indicate that the XBRL reporting format provides incremental information content.     

Green supplier selection: a new genetic/immune strategy with industrial application

With the onset of the ‘climate change movement’, organisations are striving to include environmental criteria into the supplier selection process. This article hybridises a Green Data Envelopment Analysis (GDEA)-based approach with a new Genetic/Immune Strategy for Data Envelopment Analysis (GIS-DEA). A GIS-DEA approach provides a different view to solving multi-criteria decision making problems using data envelopment analysis (DEA) by considering DEA as a multi-objective optimisation problem with efficiency as one objective and proximity of solution to decision makers’ preferences as the other objective. The hybrid approach called GIS-GDEA is applied here to a well-known automobile spare parts manufacturer in India and the results presented. User validation developed based on specific set of criteria suggests that the supplier selection process with GIS-GDEA is more practical than other approaches in a current industrial scenario with multiple decision makers.     

Carbon Sequestration and Conservation of Tropical Forests Under Uncertainty

Concern for global warming has focused attention on the role of tropical forests in the reduction of ambient CO₂ levels and mitigation of climate change. Deforestation is a major land use change in the tropics, with forest resources undergoing degradation through the influence of logging and conversion to other uses. Land use change is a product of varied local and regional resource use policies. Management of forest resources is one such major temporal factor, influencing resource stability and the carbon pool. Under a given management policy, both the long period of forest growth, and the slow turnover and decay of the carbon pool, enhance the relevance of stand level management policies as cost-effective mechanisms mitigating climate change. Apart from regional level uncertainties like the nature of land use and the estimation of carbon storage in vegetation and soil, the carbon flux of tropical forests is greatly influenced by uncertainty in regenerative capacity of forests and in harvest and management policies. A case study from India is used to develop a transition matrix model of natural forest management, and to explore the economic implications of maintaining and expanding existing carbon sinks. The study further explores the significance of investments in additional carbon sinks in plantation forests, given continued uncertainty in natural forest management.     

Food Safety Issues,Trade and WTO Rules: A Developing Country Perspective

The SPS Agreement and the related WTO dispute settlement mechanism are an important first step in strengthening the global trade architecture, bringing in greater transparency and orderly conditions to world food trade. However, implementation of the new trade rules has turned out to be a more complex task than the traditional market access issues handled by the WTO. Several factors, including inadequate financial and technical resources, have constrained devel‐oping countries from becoming effective participants in the implementation process, and there is widespread suspicion that SPS regulations are being used as hidden protectionist devices by developed countries. However, despite all the problems, some developing countries have been quite successful in penetrating developed country food markets; they have done so by accepting the consumer preferences and standards in quality‐sensitive high‐income markets and implementing domestic supply‐side measures. While making full use of available international assistance initiatives, developing countries should view the task of complying with SPS standards not just as a barrier but also as an opportunity to upgrade quality standards and market sophistication in the food export sector.     

Malaysian Trade Policy and the 2001 WTO Trade Policy Review

The purpose of this paper is two–fold; to examine developments in trade and investment policy regimes in Malaysia following the on–set of the financial crisis, using the Trade Policy Review Malaysia: 2001 of the WTO as a reference point; and to evaluate the Review in terms of the objectives of the WTO Trade Policy Review Mechanism as set out in the Marrakesh Agreement. It is found that, by and large Malaysia has managed to come out of the crisis without compromising on its long–standing commitment to maintaining a relatively open trade and investment policy regime by the regional standards. However, there are some disturbing post–crisis developments, which deserve scrutiny in a future Review. These include increase in the degree of dispersion of tariff rates because of high tariff peaks relating to a few product lines, increased reliance on non–automatic import licensing to regulate imports of a significant number of products which directly compete with domestic production by public sector enterprises, and unexplained delays in meeting commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)